Our Team

Meet the team

Richard Elliott, general manager & director of squash

Born in England, Richard, a casual badminton and tennis player, started playing squash at age 13. He played his first junior tournament at age 14. By age 16, he decided to pursue a professional career in squash, and it became his lifelong passion. By age 19, he ranked in the top 30 in the UK and #107 in the world. He continued to play in tournaments and leagues in the United Kingdom, as well as throughout Europe for Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournaments.

Richard has over 30 years of coaching experience and holds the highest level of coaching certification — an England Squash Level 3. He realized coaching was his calling after taking his first full-time resident teaching pro position at age 20 in England. Over the next 10 years, he held three head pro positions in Europe: two in England, and one in Switzerland.

In 1995, Richard moved to California to become the head teaching pro at The Decathlon Club (Santa Clara), followed by the Pacific Athletic Club (Redwood City). He later joined Stanford University to coach the varsity teams. Now, Richard is heavily involved in developing junior players. He organizes tournaments for players at all levels, as well as an annual tournament for international professional players.

Richard still competes; he won the U.S. National Age-Level Championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006, and he was a Finalist in 2000 and in 2004. He was also a World Masters finalist in 2008 and won third place in 2001. Besides squash, Richard loves physical training and pushing the limits of endurance. He trained and completed his first triathlon (half-ironman) in 2011 in San Francisco. His other hobbies include reading, golf, snowboarding, and cycling.

Aisling Blake, head coach

Aisling Blake, former world number 21 in the PSA World rankings hails from Ireland and arrived in the Bay area late 2015. Prior to this she played on the world tour as a professional player for many years alongside representing her country at various European and World team Championships. She trained alongside Nicol David (8 time World Champion) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands under the tutelage of Liz Irving (former world number 2, current coach of Nicol David among other top players).

As a junior Aisling enjoyed success at National and International level (semi-finals of the British Junior Open U-19, Irish number 1 in age groups). She went on to study business at Trinity College, Dublin before embarking on her professional career which took her all over the world competing in events. Post retirement from the professional scene in 2015 she has focussed on both junior and senior squash development in the US and is currently on the US Squash coaching staff as a West Coast Regional coach. The highs and lows of playing and competing at an elite level is invaluable to one’s growth as an individual and Aisling is very interested in passing on the tips and tricks she has learned to the next generation of squash players in the Bay area.

MCGEE O'NEIL, DUTY MANAGER AND ASSISTANT SQUASH PROFESSIONAL

Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, McGee started playing squash at a young age at Meadow Mill Athletic Club. As a junior, he competed extensively in the US and in some international tournaments. McGee played on the varsity teams at The Boys’ Latin School and the Hotchkiss School before playing for four years at Hobart College. He graduated from Hobart College in May 2016 with a degree in American Studies.

McGee currently holds a Level 1 coaching certification from US Squash.

REquest a lesson

Our two resident squash pros are available for private lessons and clinics. We welcome players of any age and any skill level.

Evan Goldberg, co-founder

Evan is responsible for product strategy and development at Oracle NetSuite Global Business Unit. Prior to Oracle’s acquisition of NetSuite, Evan was CTO and Chairman of the NetSuite board. Before co-founding NetSuite in 1998, Evan spent eight years as a vice president at Oracle Corporation where he focused on making powerful database technology more accessible to users. Evan also founded the BRCA Foundation supporting cancer research.

Evan was an avid tennis player, but after being introduced to squash, the new sport became his passion. In 2008, Netsuite sponsored its first professional squash tournament — the Netsuite Open, and now, the tournament is the most prestigious professional squash tournament on the West Coast. Evan combined his passion for squash and his philanthropic endeavors by starting Squash on Track.

Elaine Friedland, Club administrator

Elaine moved to California in 2005 via Canada, South Africa, and her birth country England. Previously, Elaine worked at Bay Club Redwood Shores as the squash administrator for 10 years.

Elaine received a diploma in Hotel and Industrial Catering from the Hotel School in South Africa. She spent over 15 years with a large industrial catering firm where she gained experience in management and accounting. After emigrating to Canada, Elaine started her own bookkeeping business, overseeing all accounting procedures for over 30 small companies.

Elaine was introduced to squash in Canada after her husband joined a local club and signed her up without her knowledge. Elaine has played in three Howe cups, where her team achieved 2nd in the D division and 1st in the C Division. Elaine was also the Peninsula League Coordinator for three years. Today Elaine plays social squash and looks forward to seeing all the members on court.